Freelance Writing with no Experience (Detailed Explanation)

No doubt – Freelance Writing helps you make a living writing.

But, what if you had no experience?

Let’s open the secrets.

First, let’s consider why you should listen to me.

• I’ve been doing Freelance Writing for 13 years now. Literally, I’ve seen countless failures, cried, and have successfully travelled this far.
• I’ve made over $85K, working for companies, serving thousands of readers on search pages. I worked for pennies. I charged high rates as well, working for companies serving millions of customers. I can feel responsibilities.
• I’ve helped clients increase organic growth. I’ve proven case studies under my belt.
• Now – I help students learn how to do freelance writing. I’ve to change people lives.

Let’s proceed.

Before you start, here is what you should have considered.

What is Freelance Writing?

Freelance writing is a profession – no doubt.

In freelance writing, an independent, self-employed writer – who works for random clients, is a freelance writer.

The projects are handled on contract basis. There are no full-time deals, in most cases.

So, you should’ve understood how freelance writing works.

Let’s consider other aspects.

Don’t proceed if you haven’t confirmed the following aspects.

• You should have a passion for writing, editing, and proofreading.
• And, second – you should have understood how English grammar works. In most cases, this includes how sentence structures work. Sentence structures, in this case – helps you how to craft basic sentences in English.

Next, here is what matters.

Learning how English grammar rules work, depends on:

• Learning – you can learn from a teacher, course, or cover grammar from online sources, free of charge.
• Practice – learn how to put thoughts into words – real power of a writer.

However – in case of writing, there is a different story.

There are two cases now.

Case 1: You love to write by birth. You have a passion to put your thoughts into words – persuasively.

Case 2: Writing is not your life. You don’t have a passion for writing.

So, what’s next?

If you feel, you’ve a knack for writing – you’re good to proceed further.

Conversely, if writing doesn’t fascinate you; however, you’d love to get paid to write, you’ll need to learn how to write in simple English.

Remember – once you’ve validated the ground reality, you can proceed further.

Let’s learn how to start freelance writing with no experience.

Freelance Writing with no Experience

Step 1: Decide on a Writing Niche

Purpose: Niche selection helps you confirm – what type of clients you’ll be serving. It helps you confirm direction for research, content writing, and to narrow down various industries.

Be careful, niche selection requires special attention. It defines your career’s success or failure.

So, what’s a writing niche?

In Freelance Writing, niche refers to the Topic of expertise. For example – if you’ve knowledge of a specific subject, industry, or domain, it would be good if you’ve chosen the particular domain as writing niche.

Here, you need to consider a thumb rule.

You should pick a single subject as writing niche. Don’t choose multiple topics.

Keep in mind – if you do, you shouldn’t exceed from picking two subjects – closely related domains. For example, if you choose WordPress as writing niche, you can also write on closely-related topics, such as Web Tools, Page Builders, or custom Development.

Listen – there is a misconception.

Choosing multiple writing niches helps writers earn more – wrong, my friend. Don’t fall for the trap – be careful.

I want to tell you a story.

Back in past, I tried working in multiple niches. Here is what happened.

• Prospective clients used to stop replying. They were unsure of my skills as a freelance writer – they were right, my fault.
• I was not able to hold existing clients – simple.

Then, something happened. I changed my niche. I choose a single niche, and guess what happened?

• I was able to close a writing deal in less than 3 days – believe me. To this date, the same client still works together.

Power of choosing a single, specific writing niche.

So, let’s discuss further.

Here is why you should choose a particular subject as writing niche.

• Clients trust writers who’ve proven knowledge of a specific industry, subject, or area of interest. They don’t trust writers with diverse topics.
• In freelance writing, you can demand high rates if you can showcase a proven track record of achievements in a specific domain.
• In most cases, you don’t have to do research. The topics you cover in a favorite niche are already, covered, learned, and practiced – key benefit of choosing a favorite niche.
• If you think – replicating a research, content strategy, or audit makes sense for a similar client, you can proceed further. It helps you save time – no doubt.

Let’s proceed further.

Here is a list of common freelance writing niches.

• Information Technology
• Sports
• Health
• Business
• Education
• Finance
• Marketing

Let’s learn how to choose a writing niche.

Make a list of favorite topics – 2-3 subjects. Take care of what fascinates you, interests, and professional case studies – if any.

Next – choose a topic based on professional record, passion, and interest.

Enough.

Here, one thing I’d like to highlight.

Don’t choose YMYL niche – Your Money Your Life.

YMYL niches affect human lives, such as Health, Finance, Legal, and Safety.

The point is, in YMYL niches – Google prefers content written by authorized people.

So, if you’re struggling to secure rankings, YMYL niches are hard. Simple.

To this line, you should’ve chosen your writing niche. If yes, you’re good to proceed to the next step.

Note: Make sure – you’ve chosen your writing niche wisely. Stay calm. Take a week or month. There is no problem. In the future, you don’t have to change your writing niche.

Step 2: Foundation as a Freelance Writer

Purpose: Foundation includes creating digital assets as a freelance writer. In front of prospective clients, digital assets, such as a LinkedIn profile, helps you better position yourself.

As a Freelance writer, foundation helps you better showcase your career.

Foundation is the back-bone of online presence. Here is what you should count on under Foundation.

• Portfolio website
• Social media profile(s) as a freelance writer
• Author page – helps you showcase your writing samples

Now, there are two ways to build foundation as a writer.

1. Free media
2. Paid assets

Under free media, you can count on LinkedIn, social media profile(s), and an author page on a content platform, such as Medium.

However, a portfolio website falls under the paid media.

Depending on how serious you take writing career, premium assets have advantages. A portfolio site at custom domain name – no doubt, helps you better position yourself, professionally.

Here is how you should proceed.

Create a LinkedIn profile. It doesn’t cost money. Initially, you need a Gmail address for LinkedIn. Once created a LinkedIn profile, enter your details – properly. If possible, verify your LinkedIn profile. It helps you attract potential opportunities on LinkedIn.

Second, create an Author page on Medium. In this case, Medium doesn’t cost money; while helping writers showcase writing samples to prospective clients.

Now, let’s talk about building a portfolio website.

As compared to LinkedIn and Medium, a portfolio site is more professional. However – of course, it costs money.

Generally, building a site requires the following assets:

1. Domain name
2. Web hosting

A domain name refers to the address of a site. You can buy a custom domain at $12-20 per year.

Similarly, a server-space plan used to store site files is called a web hosting plan. It costs money – usually ranges from $25 to $40 per year. In this case, some companies, such as Namecheap, also provides monthly plans for web hosting.

Note: Creating a portfolio site requires technical expertise. If you don’t know how to proceed, hire a developer – instead. You’ve another option. If you’ve signed up for a premium service, such as WordPress – the point-and-click interface, custom templates, and support help you choose a style, edit, and launch your portfolio site in minutes, without learning how to code or go through technical expertise.

Next – there are two cases.

Case 1: If you can spend money, it would be good if create a portfolio website at custom domain.

Case 2: Alternatively – once you’ve created a LinkedIn and Medium profile(s), you can move forward.

Let’s move forward.

Step 3: Get Published – Credibility as a Freelance Writer

Purpose: Credibility helps you demonstrates the type, quality, and tone of writing you offer. It helps you increase your worth, by publishing write-ups on relevant platforms.

Getting published on top platforms, relevant ones – helps you claim credibility as a Freelance Writer.

So, how to proceed?

There are two road maps.

1. Write your samples on Free platforms
2. Get published on relevant, high authority, and well-known sites

Of course, the second option requires expertise – however; helps you quickly claim credibility.

In this scenario, the free platforms help you move forward. Conversely, if you get published on relevant sources, helps you quickly earn credibility as a freelance writer.

Here is what happens next.

In case of the free platforms, you can count on:

• LinkedIn – social media platform for professionals
• Medium – free publishing platform for content writers

Simply – create and write samples on LinkedIn and Medium.

One thing needs attention.

Choose relevant topics for guest posts – click-worthy subjects.

Here is what you should do.

• Search for a main topic on Google – relevant one.
• Assess the ranking pages’ headlines and choose one sounds fascinating.

Note: The headline you choose should address prospects’ needs – the type of content they’d always – like to create.

On the other hand – here is why you should count on relevant platforms for samples.

• Prospective clients trust on writers – who’s write-ups are published on well-known, relevant sources. They use to read such platforms – you get the idea. It shows how expert you’re in a specific industry.
• If clients want to get published on similar sites, chances of mutual partnerships become high.

However – here is what happens.

Keep in mind – if you want to get published on relevant platforms, you’ve to work hard – be patient.

Here is what you should expect:

• Top platforms reply late. You’ve to be patient.
• You can start from small – relevant sites first. Once published on small sites, leverage the samples to get published on bigger sources.
• In some case, if makes sense – you can pay to get published on a relevant platform. So, however – beginners shouldn’t sign up for paid deals, it can hurt their writing nature.

Note: Get your writing samples published on 2-3 sources. Enough for now. The posts you write for other platforms, free of charge – refers to Guest Posts.

Here is how you should proceed further.

Step 1: On Google, search for relevant topics. In this case, Google SERPs helps you collect relevant sources – platforms.

Step 2: Compile a list of 10 sources – relevant ones.

Step 3: Next – see if you can find a Write for Us page on sources. You can find one manually.

Step 4: According to guest post guidelines, pitch your guest post idea to sources.

Step 5: Once you heard a response, you can proceed further.

Note: Once published on 2-3 platforms, you can move forward to the next step.

Step 4: Client Hunting

Purpose: The phase, hunting for clients drives in real business. The process includes searching for clients, negotiating, and shaking hands for writing assignments.

Let’s face the truth.

Even – if you’re well-prepared, client hunting requires regular efforts, negotiation skills, and patience.

There are different ways to hunt for prospective clients.

• Some prefer social media for potential opportunities, such as Facebook. In this case, getting around on Facebook groups can help.
• Others prefer – sharing relevant opinion on LinkedIn helps get clients. On LinkedIn, expand your relevant network and share information, relevant case studies, and opinions to attract a relevant audience.
• On the other hand, experts prefer, proven case studies help better close writing deals. Here, ranking client’s assets on search pages helps you inspire prospective clients.
• Then, some prefer bidding sites for client hunting, Freelancer, Fiverr, and Upwork to name a few. There are projects on bidding platforms – bidding on relevant assignments can help you win projects – simple.
• There are job boards, too. You can join free boards or pay for premium ones. However, in the start – you don’t need to spend money. Instead of job boards, you can use Indeed job alerts.
• Above all – majority of writers prefer Cold pitching, helping writers directly reach out to potential clients via Email – one to one communication. In cold pitching, you should expect a response rate of 1/50 – getting one response per 50 emails you send. Keep in mind, a response refers to prospect’s email response to your pitch, not a closed deal. Second, you’ll need to use specific email templates in cold pitching.

So, what should you consider?

You need to follow a rule of thumb.

For client hunting, one cannot master multiple platforms. You’ve to choose 1-2 sources.

Here, let’s address how should you decide on one.

If you’ve taken a course, following the teacher’s advice yields positive results. You shouldn’t consider other options.

What else?

Depending on efforts required, there are two kinds of routines for client hunting.

1. Active hunting
2. Passive hunting

Efforts on a regular basis, if help you get clients – fall under active hunting. For example, posting relevant content on LinkedIn can help – regularly.

Similarly – passive hunting makes your life easier. Once you’ve built an asset, such as rankings on Google search pages – can help you get repeated clients, automatically.

Hence, the whole story boils down to experience, level, and professional records. If you’re well-experienced, you can build passive streams of clients.

In the start, as you’re a beginner – it would be good to proceed with active routines for client hunting. Simple.

So, how to proceed?

Depending on the platforms, you’ll need to spend time learning how schedules work.

For absolute beginners – building passive client streams is hard. They don’t make sense in the start. However, you can choose other options.

Let’s discuss further.

LinkedIn – for example, requires posting relevant content regularly. After you’ve setup your profile, sharing content for months to come, can help you yield positive results. It takes time, not recommended for beginners.

Similarly, proven case studies fall under passive streams. In this case, ranking clients’ assets high on Google, takes time – my friend. This falls under SEO, learning how SEO works can consume a life.

Let’s talk about other options.

If you’re thinking to join Bidding platforms, I’d suggest – you should stop here.

There are two reasons why I don’t like bidding platforms.

• Bidding platforms have projects, no doubt – they do have greater competition. Beginners’ can’t make success on bidding platforms.
• On bidding platforms, you’re offered to work for pennies. It stops your career, remember.

So, let’s proceed further.

Now – we need to choose between Cold pitching and Facebook.

Let’s talk about Cold pitching.

Personally, I started with cold pitching.

Here is why I advocate cold pitching for Beginners.

• Cold pitching provides direct communication with prospective clients – one-to-one. This helps beginners avoid competition.
• In cold pitching, negotiation skills matter – remember. If you can convince prospective clients, you can win projects, no doubt.
• You can certainly control how rates, schedules, and conditions are decided. Conversely, on other platforms – you can’t control how a project’s terms are decided.

But, let’s face the truth – are there any complications in cold pitching, for beginners?

Yes, there are complications.

Let’s discuss further in details.

• Cold pitching costs money. You’ll need to buy web hosting, a domain name, and hire a developer to build a portfolio website – if you don’t know how to build one.
• You should understand, cold pitching is not for beginners – although, cold pitching response success rate is high, as compared to similar options.
• Cold pitching requires technical expertise – too. In this scenario, compiling a list of prospective clients, finding their contact information, and sending emails – are the skills you’ll need.

So, how should you proceed?

Facebook, my friend.

Consider joining Facebook groups for writing assignments – small projects. On the other hand, you should pick a source based on success rate, interest, or skills.

Let me tell you my story.

Once on Facebook, I commented on a post, a detailed comment. The post was written by an agency owner. The post author contacted me for a potential project. Long story short – I was hired in less than 5 minutes, although I wasn’t expecting a lead.

In this case, here is how you should proceed.

Step 1: Once joined Facebook, apply to join relevant groups – the groups people post relevant jobs in, on a regular schedule.

Step 2: Apply to jobs – professionally. Don’t consider shortcuts. If you need a cover letter, send one. If you need to follow a specific medium, attend accordingly. The point is, you should follow how an employer prefers specific job replies.

Step 3: Repeat the process of applications. If possible, make sure you apply to jobs on a daily basis, 3-5 jobs.

Step 4: Don’t overlook expanding your network on Facebook. Take care of the respect, contacts, and professional ethics.

Note: Once you’ve won small assignments on Facebook, you can move forward to join other platforms. The point is, from beginner to advanced journey – you should aim at building passive streams of clients. Start small, aim at winning the game.

Step 5: Rates

Purpose: You shouldn’t quote a rate that distracts the prospective client. You should sound friendly, affordable, and according to industry standards.

You can’t charge random rates. It can cause you lose projects.

Here is what rates depend on – listen carefully.

• Rates depend on how professional you’re. The amount of value you can bring to the table, can help you command rates.
• Yes – rates depend on how wealthy your prospective clients are, pay attention to details.
• The amount of work helps define rates.
• And, the type of work required helps define rates. For example, a simple article costs around $50 – 700-1200 words. Conversely, a technical write-up should cost more. Similarly, a piece of writing, tailored to rank high on Google – should even cost more, no doubt.
• Additional services – yes, if you provide extra services, you can charge more per article. An example of additional services is “uploading content to client site’s dashboard for a review”.

Let’s describe how should you charge rates in the start.

First – be careful while you’re quoting rates to clients.

Let’s define the roadmap to proceed.

Step 1: Once a prospective client sends a response, obtain information, such as:

• What type of work the client requires?
• Is the project a one-time assignment, multiple tasks, or a monthly deal?
• Specifics of articles, such as word count.
• Does the client need additional services, as discussed above, such as “managing content in the site’s dashboard”.

Step 2: Depending on the details, you can quote a price per assignment. If the client signs up for a monthly deal, you should charge less per assignment – comparatively.

Normally – in the start, you shouldn’t charge more than $30-$40 per article – 1000-1200 words. If you see the client leaving, offer to charge minimum rates you can accept – in case you want to hold the project. The point is, you’ve to win your first assignment. Period.

If possible, give different options to prospective clients. For example, here is what you can offer.

I charge $30 for simple assignments of 700-1200 words. If you prefer SEO-optimized content, backed by keyword research – I’ll be charging $50 per post. Similarly – if you need additional services, such as uploading drafts to site’s dashboard, I will charge $70 per assignment in this case. However, I can lower my rates if you sign up for a monthly deal.

You can also offer value-based offers. For example, if possible – here is a sample offer.

In the coming 3 months, I’ll be working on creating SEO-optimized content to increase organic growth. I’ll increase a 2000-pageview traffic to existing numbers. Once the promised is fulfilled, you can proceed and pay me.

Enough.

If you’ve come this far, let’s move forward.

Step 6: Work, Delivery, Repeat, and Improve

Purpose: This step helps you assess workflows, improve accordingly, and convert more prospects into clients with effective strategies.

This section has four concerns.

1. How to work?
2. Delivering the work
3. Repeating the process
4. Improve accordingly

Let’s discuss further.

Work

I want to be straight.

How to work? It depends on two factors.

Some benchmarks depend on a writer’s attributes, such as quality of writing, following searcher intent, and taking care of the readers’ problems. Perfect.

On the other hand – some benchmarks are preferred by clients, including SEO stats, topic selection, outlines, word count, and custom screenshots.

Now – here is what you need to consider.

Look – the quality of work should address both ends – the benchmarks you prefer, and the ones client prefers. You shouldn’t ignore any. Period.

Here is how a sample set of rules for work is compiled.

Each post should include 2000 words, let’s say. Optimize the posts for SEO stats. Include custom screenshots, and upload the first drafts to WordPress dashboard.

So, while negotiating with clients, make sure you’ve created a checklist to follow. In this case, make sure – the checklist is followed for each assignment, before you’re ready to deliver the first draft.

Now, let’s talk about delivering the work.

Delivery of work

Which medium should you use to deliver the freelance writing assignments?

Look, it depends on what client prefers.

Here are the media a client may prefer.

• Email
• Google documents
• Uploading to site’s dashboard

So – if the client has specifically mentioned how to deliver the work, well enough. Conversely, you can ask while negotiating the project’s details. In other conditions, prefer Google documents, instead.

Here is why you should prefer Google Documents.

In freelance writing, first drafts are supposed to revisions. So, in Google documents – you can create a link to share. As, multiple people can access a link, simultaneously – the concerned people can see the edits, revisions, and suggestions in real time. Second, delivering documents via Email is risky. Sometimes, the documents are infected with malware; or the clients may find dealing with email documents – hard.

Perfect. Let’s move forward.

Let’s talk about how to repeat the process.

Repeating the process

So, there are two cases.

1. Repeating the process for clients – after you’ve started working on assignments
2. And, repeating the whole strategy, from start to finish

Repeating the process for existing client is pre-defined. Once you’ve created a checklist for existing client(s), follow the list for each assignment – end of story.

However – in case of new clients, you should create a new checklist – of course. Each client has different requirements, some are common while others require a different roadmap.

Overall – here is what steps you’ll need to repeat.

Keep in mind – the following lines help you understand, how should you repeat the process for a living.

To drive in more business, the following steps need attention – always. The following steps indicate, you’re standing at a career level. In this case – niche selection, foundation, and credibility have been accomplished once – already.

Here are the steps.

• Client hunting
• Setting rates
• Delivery of work

Let’s address how to improve the whole process.

Improve the process

Keep in mind – you should improve workflows as you do more business.

Here is a list of suggestions.

• Showcase new samples, testimonials, achievements, and case studies on portfolio website – as you earn, over time.
• If possible, get published on more, relevant, high authority platforms. In front of relevant audience, getting published helps you attract more clients.
• You should regularly hunt for clients. A stream of new prospects sets you free – helps you pick ideal clients.
• Research a prospective client’s business before quoting rates. Discuss the details, address what value you can bring to the table, and accordingly – quote a suitable price.
• Always, take care of what client prefers; delivery media, checklists, and deadlines.

Note: If you’ve read this far, you’ve covered how to start a freelance writing career from scratch – having no experience, as an absolute beginner.

Tip: Take your writing skills seriously. Learn how to write grammar-proof sentences. It can affect you as a writer – prospective clients can stop replying if you fail to communicate clearly.

Conclusion

In this resource, you’ve learned how to start freelance writing with no experience.

Here is a breakdown of the steps.

• Pick a subject, industry, or topic for freelance writing
• Create a portfolio page
• Credibility – demonstrate your writing proofs
• Search for clients
• Decide rates
• Work, repeat the process, and improve

Note: If a piece of information resonates with a high career-level, we’ve specifically highlighted – accordingly.

In the start, you don’t need to spend money. However – even if creating a portfolio page costs money, you can find alternative options, such as creating a portfolio on LinkedIn.

Now, take your first step forward. There is no good time – remember.